What happened in the six years between THE LIGHT and JEWELS? As it turns out, the boys of Corresponding Handpieces didn't stop recording. In fact, Dave + Evan had several sessions together, but a lot of the finished instrumentals simply sat around, untouched, collecting dust as more and more new tracks got piled on top. Before moving forward, a cleaning had to be done.

After the utterly bleak and distressing tones of THE LIGHT, the initial attempt at a new record was one that was more bright, buoyant, and fun -- but the band was unable to reconcile new material with the horrors going on with the world, which is why tracks like "Vomiting Jewels", "Plague Round", "Question: If Not, Why Not?", and "Nailbiter" address topics both political and existential. The band still wrote goofy one-off tracks, but when the album came into focus, they weren't needed -- save for the genuinely absurd metal offshoot "The Melting Fox", of course.

In the end, JEWELS features Corresponding Handpieces at a turning point, having started out with improvised noise sketches and pop one-offs to evolving into a darkly psychedelic group with a cohesive, distinct sound. JEWELS isn't as dark as THE LIGHT but also, it's not exactly sunshine either. The instrumental passages are longer and stronger, and band feels at ease in their identity. It's another striking album from a group that's been gone from the game for far too long.